January 31 St Martin

On January 26th we decided to head north after the front had passed. We had a window of opportunity, knowing that another front was on the way. We raised anchor in St Kitts at first light, 630am and aimed for St Barts. The winds were 15knots and even though the seas were building, ultimately to 10 feet on this journey, we screamed along at 7.5 knots. We found ourselves in range of St Barts around noon and decided to press on to St Martin while the getting was good.
We rounded the southwestern coast and found ourselves headed right into the wind and swell, so it was rough and slow going the rest of the way into Marigot Bay, on the French side. Same island, but in addition to customs/immigration fees, the Dutch charge for anchoring and passing through the draw bridge into the sheltered lagoon of the bay. The French do not so it appears they do have a few redeeming qualities. Obviously, most cruisers enter and check in on the French side. We did not make it in time for the last bridge opening, so we anchored in Marigot Bay. The winds were very brisk but fortunately the anchorage was not rolly so we were able to rest.
Dinghy rides were proving to be wet and long so we entered the sheltered lagoon the following day to wait out the ever-building front before we proceed to the Virgin Islands. This proved a good decision since the winds have continued to build through the week, currently 20knots sustained with gusts to 28knots. Until today is has been cool and very rainy. I have been wearing long sleeves and even a jacket for dinghy rides. I contemplate socks…the horror. Weather reports indicate offshore winds 25-30knots and seas in excess of 12 feet. This thing is supposed to blow itself out in the next day or two, and we have to wait until it passes and the seas lay down before our next journey. It is a 75 mile run to Virgin Gorda.
This harbor is very protected, so although at times it feels as if we are sailing while at anchor, Hakuna Matata sits calmly and quietly in the water. We have been messing around with chores and light maintenance…laundry, proactively replacing lazy jack lines on the stack pack that holds our mainsail, refilling the extra deck fuel jugs, etc. We are also having a little fun. A surprise visit from Renatta and Jim of S/V Emerald Seas was a treat. We have not seen them since Grenada and as it turns out, they are anchored right behind us in the lagoon. Boat fever coupled with a cook’s night off took us into a bistro we had visited when Dave Damm was here. We went all-french and had escargot, French onion soup, French-style pizza and crème brulee. They may not anchor worth a hoot but they sure can cook and make good wine. We went into the Dutch side (duty-free) Budget Marine and scored a 44 pound Bruce-style anchor and set it up on the bow for immediate deployment should the primary fail. It serves as our new emergency secondary anchor and is also the style we will need in Texas. We previously had the Fortress up there but that wasn’t working out with the jib without a dual bow roller (item #2 on the upgrade list).

Leaving Basseterre, St Kitts.
Playing with camera settings while cruise ships pull out and dawn from the boat, overlooking St Kitts with Nevis in the background:











At anchor in the lagoon between St Martin and Sint Marteen.
This point is called Witches Tit...not making that up.

Jim of S/V Emerald Seas up his mast, winds still 20knots....

Internet is poor in the anchorage so we have ventured into town to a cafe (le bar de la mer ) for a Sunday afternoon of free wireless and cold Belgian beer.

All is well on Hakuna Matata as the winds howl through our rigging and we wait....

January 20-25 Nevis/St Christopher (St Kitts)

On January 20th we made the run over to Nevis/St Christopher(St Kitts). Being the very first colonies in the British and French empires, they are now independent countries that share dual authority. As such, cruising yachts can check into one and receive coastal cruising clearance for both. Sounds simple enough. NOT!! All I can say is that three hours later, after running around Nevis between customs, immigration and the port authority, dragging Brian and Taffy around with us to feel our pain, we have our 7 day coastal clearance in hand. And surprise. Nevis requires the use of mooring balls.
We head down the coast to Oaulie Bay and got settled on a mooring ball. At least these are high-town moorings with some serious hardware. We don’t mind paying for them when we don’t have to worry about Hakuna Matata breaking off one in the middle of the night. The following morning we went over to Tamarind Bay. There was excellent snorkeling here. Around the coastal rocks, there are thousands of bait fish, so thick that you cannot see through them. Even so, Craig found a lobster nest. They are just always just deep enough to be unattainable by free diving, so we return to the boat for scuba gear. Craig catches while I maintain surface support, monitoring his air tank and bagging the catch. These are a bit small, so we capture eight. I chopped up the tails and served them over vermicelli with a cream/jalepeno sauce. We also dinghied over to an adjacent beach and went to the Christobel club, owned by a Danish couple who gave us the inside scoop on Nevis/St Kitts.
We traveled over to Basseterre, St Kitts the next day. Expecting to pull into the new “world-class marina” so that we have a comfy spot to off-load guests and luggage to a dock, we are surprised to call them and find they are full. What to do? We consult the charts and head to Frigate Bay and Timothy Beach. There are a lot of clubs, restaurants and a dinghy dock. The only thing is that the wind has shifted to the west. The bays all face west, so we are in for a very rolly night. The cruising guides all refer to these anchorages as untenable when then winds are from the west and that is exactly what it was. Nobody slept, and coupled with the party music that did not stop until 0630 the following morning, it was a rough night for all of us.
On Sunday, we dropped off Brian and Taffy in the care of a taxi and took off for another anchorage. It was great having Brian and Taffy on board with us. Thanks for everything!!!
We went over to White House Bay which was very nice. Several other boats sought refuge in there while the front was passing through but there was plenty of room and despite several French-flagged boats, nobody did anything stupid. It was cool, cloudy and rainy at times with gusts to 25knots. We relaxed, snorkeled and fished, being rewarded one night with two giant mangrove snappers.

A coastal Nevis shack en route and Oualie Bay:

Tamarind Bay. OSHA does not appear on the scene of this construction site:

Frigate Bay:

Views from BasseTerre:

White House Bay:

January 20 Antigua to Nevis

We left Falmouth Harbour on January 19th and scooted over to Jolly Harbour to check out of the country and spend the night. Jolly Harbour is unique and turned out far different than our expectations. There are multiple inlets within the harbour proper, all covered up with what appear to be 2BR/2BA condos with attached boat slips (starting at 345K, a bit more expensive than Kemah...). Even so, customs/immigration and a nice shopping area are readily accessible by dinghy. After anchoring in a more secluded area just outside of the harbour, we dinghy in to attend to business, that being a few groceries and an internet cafe to complete boat insurance renewal.



Monserrat in passing and views from our anchorage:

We up anchor bright and early, at 0700,for the 46 mile run to Nevis. There are some French people who, surprise, have anchored too close to us, but fortunately they are just far way enough so we can escape unimpeded. Jackasses...

We are quick on the fish. With both trolling lines out, we catch several barracuda. The islanders eat them, but due to the risk of ciguatera poisoning, we do not. As we approach the coast of Nevis, though, we see a flight of albatross over the water. This is always a good sign as they are hunting the bait fish which are surfacing due to being chased up by bigger fish (read: tuna and mahi). We alter course to troll where the birds are and are quickly rewarded with a zinging trolling line. Taffy fights and fights the fish. Ultimately she passes to Craig who lands the skipjack tuna. It is early in the afternoon but we quickly start contemplating sushi appetizers and dinner options with this fat fish, now secured in our deck cooler. Jimmy: we thought of you.

The highest point of Nevis, 3200 feet. Brian has aspirations of climbing it. We wish him well....

We set anchor just off the town of Charlestown. It is too late in the afternoon to check-in but it is relatively close for an AM dinghy ride to attend to regulatory business. Craig gets down to business on our tuna. Brian has a bite of just out of the water tuna. Sushi does not get any fresher than this:

An afternoon rainbow over Charlestown, the city proper to be visited tomorrow, and a nice sunet off our port stern.

After clean-up, showers and sundowners, we had fish. We chilled and had tuna sashima with soy sauce and wasabi. For the remaining fillets. I pan-seared the beasties with cooking oil infused with ginger. After topping with sesame oil, sesame seeds and green onions, they were quite fine. Everyone is going to bed with a belly-full of fish. Happy tummies!!

January 18 Hanging out in Antigua

We spent several nights in the marina at Nelson's Dockyard. Brian and Taffy arrived on Friday, January 15th. On Saturday we explored a bit more of the dockyard and Fort Berkeley which overlooks English Harbour.

This must be the first ever swingbed in existence. For those of you who do not know, and based on a picture I saw in a decorator magazine when I was 4yo or so, my fabulous daddy built me a swinging bed as a surprise while I was gone off to camp or something that I slept in until adulthood. He cut off the legs of the bed, welded chains to the frame and suspended the whole works from the ceiling. My mom sewed me a delicious bed linen ensemble out of jungle fabric that I got to pick out. It was THE BOMB. I swang myself to sleep every night. So, for those of you who continue to wonder how I can sleep on a swinging boat now you know....

Another interesting find at the dockyard were the remains of the sail loft, seen in the picture of the columns below. The loft was built over the top of the columns. A smaller ship would gather the sails off the big ship and come into this little canal (no motors...how?). From there, the sails were hoisted up into the loft where they were repaired.

This is overlooking English Harbour from the fort:

An Antigua shack, Brian crawling about the rocks and shot of Brian and Taffy:

We left the dock on Saturday afternoon, hit the local fuel dock and then went back around the corner to Falmouth Harbour to anchor. Craig went for a swim and caught oodles of conch. It was late in the afternoon so we hung them off the boat in a net bag to save cleaning for the next day. Sunday night was a conch feast. I had salad, plus two bites of conch. Not sure how many times I have to learn that lesson....

On Monday we went to the Antigua Rainforest Company for a much anticipated zip line tour. We did 9 zip lines which took about an hour. It was great fun. No cameras allowed on this one, so special thanks to Brian for ponying up for the professional shots of the four of us in action:

We survived the adventure. Brian had earlier taunted me with claims of fabulous guacamole. A search through this little harbour (a taxi to the grocery store is $25 each way) surprisingly produced fresh avocados, cilantro and all the required ingredients. Brian is king. We think it was the best snack we have had on the boat to date.

We are leaving in the morning around 10am to run around the corner to Jolly Harbour. We will check out of Antigua and the following day will make the 50 mile run to Nevis. We plan to stay there a day or two and then proceed to St Kitt.